Fernando Aguirre is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chiquita Brands International, Inc., where he is responsible for setting the company’s day-to-day operational performance and setting its strategic direction. He assumed the leadership role at Chiquita in January 2004.

Prior to Chiquita, Aguirre worked for more than 23 years in brand management, general management, and turnarounds at Procter and Gamble (P&G). After an internship in 1979, Aguirre began his P&G career in 1980 in Mexico. He became Associate Advertising Manager in 1984 and moved to Cincinnati in 1986, where he led P&G’s first Hispanic Marketing Group. He moved to Canada in 1988, and in 1991 became General Manager of laundry, household, and cleaning products in Mexico.

In 1992, Aguirre became President & General Manager of P&G Brazil, where he led an unprofitable business and turned it into the second-largest and second-most-profitable Latin America subsidiary in four years. He became President of P&G Mexico in 1996, where his team increased profit nearly tenfold in three years, delivering record earnings and volumes two years in a row.

In 1999, Aguirre became Vice President of P&G’s global and U.S. snacks and food products, where the team delivered record sales and profits and developed a project that led to the first national snack brand launch (Torengos) since Pringles. In July 2000, Aguirre was promoted to President of Global Feminine Care, where he achieved outstanding productivity improvements and one of the highest before-tax margins in all of P&G. In July 2002, Aguirre was named President, Special Projects, reporting directly to P&G’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, where he worked on strategy.

He joined Young Presidents' Organization in 1991 and served as President of the Mexico City chapter in 1997-1998. He is currently a member of YPO’s Cincinnati chapter. He serves on the Board of Directors for Chiquita Brands International, Inc. and currently is up for election to the board of Coca Cola Enterprises. In 2001, Aguirre helped form a corporate advisory board for the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, where he served as its first Chairman for three years.

A native of Mexico, Aguirre obtained a full baseball scholarship at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, where he competed four years. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a specialty in Marketing in 1980. Aguirre is married and has two sons, ages 16 and 13. He holds a tae kwon do brown belt and plays recreational golf.

Contact Info

Fernando Aguirre
Chairman & CEO
Chiquita Brands International
250 East 5th Street
Cincinnati, OH  45202
(513) 784-8000
faguirre@chiquita.co
www.chiquita.com